Archive for May, 2018

The challenge of combining several strategies

To ensure competitive advantage, firms focus their actions on specific strategies, and commit themselves to their pursuit in the long run. Business philosophies of companies can be described with the help of strategic orientation governing their actions. Two orientations have received the most recognition among management scholars – entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation. Entrepreneurial orientation has to do with proactive pursuit of risky innovations. Market orientation deals with being receptive and responsive to new market trends and careful coordination of firm activities to harness the emerging possibilities. Recently, arbitrage orientation, a novel form of strategic orientation, has been suggested by the researchers to explain firm actions aimed at the pursuit of the more “trivial” opportunities. Arbitrage orientation captures firm’s commitment to identifying and exploiting market inefficiencies, and it may manifest in the classic “buying low and selling high” operations or in the imitation of novel ideas first offered by someone else. Most firms actually pursue opportunities of this relatively trivial kind and cannot be called innovators in the grand sense with a straight face.

All of these orientations have a positive effect on firm performance. At the same time, for firms that want to build a truly defensible strategy, submitting to a single orientation logic may not be sufficient, suggests Sergey Anokhin, an Entrepreneurship Professor at Kent State University. Competitive advantage often requires building unique resource and capability combinations, so it may be desirable to manage firm’s strategic orientations as a portfolio. Yet, combining orientations is challenging, and researchers have documented that trying to pursue entrepreneurial and market orientations simultaneously may actually be detrimental for firm performance. With the novel arbitrage orientation being added to the strategic toolkit of decision makers, the problem of combining different strategic orientations in a single portfolio becomes all the more important.

The intuition behind the study

The difficulty of combining entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation, explains Dr. Sergey Anokhin, has to do with their conflicting natures. While entrepreneurial orientation deals with the proactive development of innovative and risky offerings for the untested market, market orientation is reactive, and seeks to provide the firm with a straightforward, market-tested space that can be profitably served by the firm. Because most firms are resource-constrained, they find it difficult to go after both goals simultaneously, and spread themselves too thin if they choose to do both. Arbitrage orientation, while clearly different from entrepreneurial orientation, represents less of a departure from the guiding principles that govern entrepreneurially oriented firms. After all, much like entrepreneurial orientation, it has to do with the pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities, albeit of a different kind than those usually targeted by the entrepreneurially oriented firms. At the same time, it is as distinct from market orientation as entrepreneurial orientation. Because of that, suggests Professor Sergey Anokhin, one may expect that arbitrage orientation and entrepreneurial orientation will work hand-in-hand, whereas the interaction of arbitrage orientation and market orientation is likely to be marred with the same difficulties that make it hard to combine entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation. Juggling three orientations is hard, but if done right, it can be successful.

The study

To test these ideas empirically, a group of scholars from Kent State University and Western Michigan University has conducted a statistical analysis of the effects that these three orientations and their combinations exert on firm performance. A representative sample of firms from the Midwest was subjected to a careful investigation, and the results were fully in line with the logic outlined above. While the effect of arbitrage orientation gets stronger in the presence of entrepreneurial orientation, it weakens significantly when the firm also scores high on market orientation. That is, if the firm chooses to develop a complex strategy that implies combining several strategic orientations, going after arbitrage and entrepreneurial orientations at once looks like a winning choice, whereas trying to combine arbitrage orientation with market orientation will only make the matters worse. This dovetails neatly with the prior research that reported the same negative outcome for the combination of entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation.

Implications

The study offers novel insights for decision makers at the level of individual firms. To ensure a windfall, it is a good idea to think of various strategic orientations as a portfolio that the firm builds over time. Not all portfolios are created equal. Certain orientation combinations are clearly beneficial to the firm, while others are detrimental. It is possible that with sufficient cushion of unused slack resources the firm may be able to effectively combine all three orientations, but for a typical firm the best strategy by far is investing in combining entrepreneurial orientation and arbitrage orientation.

1. Better work-life balance.

While it might take some time for everyone in the company to get used to the new freedom and lifestyle, in the long-run it has more positives rather than negatives. Another reason why you should choose working externally to become the norm in your business is that your employees will have better work-life balance and more time for social interactions.

They might want to be around family while doing work, to travel when they feel like, to take breaks and then work at night. Whatever that is, they will find the daily schedule that works best for them, which is impossible in the office.

2. Increased motivation.

As a result of all the other benefits of working outside of the office, you will also have a more motivated team. That means more efficiency on a daily basis, clearer communication, desire to reach the next company’s goals, brainstorming sessions during a meeting where anyone is involved, and so much more.

3. It’s easy to keep in touch and monitor remote workforce.

You might consider this a challenge as you’ll need to monitor employee performance closer than even, make sure everyone’s working on what they are supposed to, gather people for meetings, send emails and message each other all the time.

Luckily, we live in the digital era where the biggest companies have remote workers already and stay connected at all times.

You have the right tools at your disposal and can choose from a plethora of time tracking software and team collaboration tools that allow you to share files, have video calls, organize and manage projects, and track the actual time spent working and payments.

4. Cutting costs.

Last but not least, working externally means you won’t need office supplies or the actual office space anymore. Also, with the increased happiness and productivity of employees, the business will profit more.

All in all, that means spending less while earning more and is yet another reason why so many business owners prefer a remote team.

Now that you know how allowing your employees to work from anywhere can transform your business, are you ready to take the first step?

Home improvement projects can be challenging, yet completely rewarding once the task is complete. We spend hours pouring over every detail of a project, but often neglect safety aspects we need to consider during the project’s duration. There are several things you can do prior to beginning your project to ensure everything goes as safely as possible.

1. Ensure Proper Ventilation

It is crucial to have proper ventilation when working on any home improvement project. Not having adequate ventilation puts you at risk of harmful paint or chemical fumes or sawdust. These substances in the air can make it extremely difficult to breathe and can have damaging effects on your lungs. Leaving the windows in the room open as much as possible during projects and placing fans or extractors in the window to pull air and chemicals are some ways you can ventilate a space during your project.

2. Use a Respiration Mask

If you are in a situation where proper ventilation is not possible, or you just want additional protection for your lungs, wear air filter masks or respirators. Working with asbestos, black mold, or other toxic dust, as well as noxious fumes, is extremely dangerous. Equipping a mask before entering a space and beginning a project is an excellent way to ensure our lung safety.

3. Use Safety Glasses to Protect Your Eyes

When nailing or cutting, we run the risk of having nails, sawdust, or other harmful substances and items ricochet or fly into the air. These items can have a damaging impact on our eyes, which is why it is extremely important to protect them. Wear safety goggles while working on projects to ensure your eyes are safe from harm. If you are working with chemicals, or in areas where there are flying objects, dust, and other particles in the air, wear goggles that have side shields to ensure complete protection.

4. Wear Work Gloves

Work gloves are an excellent addition for safety during home projects; however, they should not be worn at all times. It is important to wear safety gloves when handling rough materials. If you are working with glass, sheet metals, and rough woods you will want to wear them to avoid cuts. If you are working with tools you want to remove the gloves in order to have better control over devices. For handling rough materials, select gloves that are puncture and tear proof to ensure the best protection. If you are working with paints, chemicals, and other harmful liquids, wear thick rubber gloves to protect your hands.

5. Make Sure Your Ladders Are Safe

Before stepping foot on to your ladder, make sure it is still reliable. Using an unstable ladder is a recipe for disaster, especially when working in extremely high areas. Ladders need to be sturdy, have proper footings, and the steps need to be securely in place. Give each step a shake prior to using, and tighten up any loose steps when necessary.

In addition to ensuring your ladder is physically safe, it is important to make sure you select the correct ladder for the job. Use stepladders for lower jobs where you do not have to struggle to reach certain items or hold tools. Ladders are available in several lengths, so be sure to select one that allows you to work safely, at a reliable height, without exerting your arms or standing on your tip-toes on the ladder. Finally, ensure the ladder you select will hold you and your tools. Ladders are each designed to hold a specific weight limit and it is important for users to adhere to the guidelines provided.

6. Make Smart Choices with Electricity

Electricity is an important part of most home improvement projects. We often need electricity to power tools, light the area, and keep ventilation units working properly. Although extremely beneficial, electricity can be very dangerous if precautions are not taken on the job. Anytime you work directly with electricity, whether you are rewiring an entire room or updating a light fixture, you need to make sure the electricity is turned off before you begin. Some ways you can be safe with electricity are:

Shut off the breaker box completely to ensure no wires are live when handling.

Make sure you are replacing electrical items with equivalent parts to ensure they function properly.

Conduct wire tests before touching to ensure they are not live.

7. Select the Right Tools for the Job

In order to complete the job safely, it is imperative that you select the right tools for the job. Make sure you have a variety of sizes available for screwdrivers and wrenches in order to secure a proper fit. When working with power tools, review the safety instructions and directions to make sure you are using the machines correctly everytime.

When changing drill bits, router heads, saw blades, or other tool components, make sure the machine is powered off completely and unplugged before doing so. Faulty switches can cause machines to turn on while changing, which can put you in a dangerous situation. If you unplug the machine, you limit the risk of being cut or hurt.

8. Keep a First Aid Kit on Hand

Make sure you have an adequate first aid kit on your job site before beginning. The kit should be well stocked with items needed to tend to minor cuts and burns. Make sure your first aid kit is up-to-date and close by as you work.

By following these safety tips, you can minimize the risks you face on your job site. Properly venting an area, using adequate and reliable safety equipment, and following directions are some ways you can protect yourself and others.

It is refreshing to see employers investing in a good employee development program. This is not only going to benefit the employee, but the business as well. At first, it will seem as if all the benefits is going to the employee at the expense of the business. After the program, the employee then has a chance to switch things around and put that skills and knowledge back into the business.

Your company might not need resume editing services, but every skill is necessary to build a successful business. Investing in your employees is an investment that is going to pay you back with interest. If you need a little more convincing, here are some reasons why it is important.

Retention

Employees who are unhappy about the lack of training opportunities often leave work faster than those who aren’t. Companies lose a lot of money when employees start to leave work after a short period. Investing in your employees education will not only give them confidence in the work they are doing, but also pays back in a high quality of services rendered.

New Applicants

It can be an attractive offer when a company offers a good training program or offers educational support. This can get you those employees you want working in your business. People who are lazy aren’t excited about developing, so you are going to attract those who are willing to put in the work.

Competitive Advantage

There is always competition when it comes to running a business. If your competitors are offering a better package than you are, it is likely that the good candidates would rather work for the competitors. A study support benefit is going to set you apart from those who are not offering it. Those employees who would go through the resume editing process are the ones you want in your business.

Promotable Employees

Investing in your employees’ skills and knowledge opens a lot of doors of opportunity. You are able to retain the same employees and promote them into roles they are qualified for. Instead of starting over with a new employee in the promotable role, you can use the staff you already have. If someone has worked themselves to a certain point to be promoted, that means they already know the ground work and ethics of the business. It saves a lot of time spent on training a new employee.

Loyalty

An employee who feels valued is going to have some level of loyalty towards the business. You are showing these employees that you care about advancing them. Offering a cover letter writing service training program to those who work in that field is going to advance them for life. This says a lot about the company ethics and would almost guarantee that the employee will remain loyal.

Conclusion

A lot of small businesses overlook this important fact and it can be detrimental. Having to find new employees to replace the ones who leave is a nightmare. Understanding the benefit of investing in your employees is what sets you apart from the rest. Do not look at it as an expense, but rather an investment. It surely will pay you back in due time. This does not only apply to the business itself, but also your customers. Your employees can give a better service, which makes the customers happy. A happy customer always comes back for more.

A home loan from ICICI Bank may prove to be a good choice for both salaried and self-employed professionals. Salaried, on one hand, have monthly income when it comes to salary and hence find it easier to decide their repayment amount. You know the rate on loans is decides by keeping into account the income/savings of applicants and CIBIL score.

In this article, we have focused on the home loan rates ICICI Bank offers to salaried applicants. Since this loan may continue up to 30 years (if chosen), it is important that you go for the tenure for which you can easily repay without any hassle.

ICICI home loan interest rates

The home loans rates ICICI Bank offers to salaried people ranges from 8.5% to 8.95% per annum. As mentioned above, the rates are approved based on your income and CIBIL Score. So, if you are able to save more than 60% of your income, you are eligible for a higher loan amount and lower rate. Talking about CIBIL score, 650 or above is required.

Types of ICICI home loans

Below are the types of home loans offered by ICICI Bank:

Pre-approved home loans- The offers are extended to selected existing customers of ICICI Bank wherein you can get concession in the processing fee and the KYC documentation will be smoother.

Step Up Home Loans– Those who earn a minimum monthly income of ₹20,000 can avail the same for a tenure of up to 20 years. The best part is that it comes with a maximum loan amount limit of ₹3 crore along with enhanced eligibility of up to 20%.

Extra Home Loans– This facility allows you to enhance your loan amount by up to 20% along with providing you an option to extend your repayment period by up to 67 years. Applicants living in Surat, Greater Mumbai, National Capital Region, and Bengaluru can avail the same home loan facility. It is designed to meet the needs of middle-aged salaried, self-employed and young salaried customers.

Balance Transfer- If you have a running home loan from another bank, you can transfer your home loan to ICICI Bank and pay much lower EMIs. The interest rate on home loans is starting at 8.45% per annum.

Balance Transfer and Top-Up- You can balance transfer your home loan from other bank and also apply for a Top-Up wherein to get extra loan amount.

Personal loan linked home loan- You can avail a personal loan (top-up) linked to your home loan with ICICI Bank. You can use the funds up to 100% of the originally sanctioned home loan. The maximum tenure for this personal loan is up to 20 years.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana– The first time home borrowers can avail the subsidy benefit of up to 6.5% p.a. In fact, one can also get the upfront subsidy benefit on principal outstanding.

Saral Rural Housing Loan– This housing loan scheme is for women borrowers and the weaker section of the society. The applicants can avail the loan up to 90% of the property value for a tenure of up to 3-20 years. The loan amount offered by the bank ranges between ₹5-15 Lakh.

ICICI home loan eligibility

The home loan eligibility at ICICI Bank is as follows:

Salaried and Self-employed individuals with the regular source of income

The applicant must be between the age of 21-65 years

The minimum age of the applicant should be 18 years

ICICI home loan calculator

A home loan calculator is a tool that is used to calculate the EMI on the loan. For example, if you are taking a home loan of ₹25 lakhs for the tenure of 20 years at the interest rate of 8.45% p.a. Your payment details will be as follows:

Every successful e-commerce website has got one thing right: it has successfully employed tried-and-tested SEO best practices to boost sales and gain customer retention. Online stores today rely on search engine optimization for traffic, a digital marketing tool without which your potential customers have no way to find you online.

Here are three SEO best practices to incorporate into your digital marketing strategy if you want to see your revenues soaring for good.

Optimize the Category and Product Pages Correctly

The category pages on your e-commerce store should be given more importance than any other web pages. Your SEO team needs to optimize each category page for the products or services listed on that specific page.

Also, loading every product page with generic words or phrases, for instance, “women’s bags,” is a big mistake. Instead, pages should be optimized to respond to specific search queries. Brand names and product models should take precedence over generic category titles when optimizing brand pages and posts. This will ensure that when a user searches for a particular brand, that particular brand’s page will appear in search engine results. And when a user searches for something like “women bags,” the category page should show up.

If you use the same keyword everywhere, you’ll have your own different pages competing against each other. So don’t stuff your e-commerce store with inappropriate keywords that you think should be used. Take the help of a professional SEO expert to do it right.

Give each Product Page its Own Title Tag

One of the problems with e-commerce SEO is that several product pages are often given the same title tag, which makes it difficult for the search engine to differentiate between them based on the specific user query.

For SEO success, give each product page a unique title tag. You can achieve this by using key phrases (set of two or more words) instead of keywords (single words). This gives your site an added advantage as people generally use phrases, not single words, to search for things online. However, make sure that the title tag does not exceed 70 characters.

Another important point to remember when employing title phrases is to begin the title tag with the key phrase to make it more search-engine-friendly. For instance, if your title tag is “leather bags for women and girls at a discount of 50%” and you want to place more emphasis on the discount, write it this way: “50% discounted leather bags for women and girls.”

Focus on making your Website Mobile-friendly

More and more online shoppers worldwide are using their mobile phones to make all kinds of purchases—from long-term assets to high-value luxury items to articles of daily use. This means that, regardless of which products of services you are selling online, your website needs to be mobile-friendly.

As Google and other search engines are including data from mobile sites to determine a website’s search-engine ranking, e-commerce stores can no longer afford to have mobile versions that are slow or inefficient or lacking in good content. This increasing focus on mobile sites is largely user-driven—search engines are reporting that more and more users globally are now using their cell phones and tablets for online search.

Making your website mobile-friendly is easy: Avoid the use of software programs that are not mobile-friendly (a good example is the Flash Player). Use the right text size that is easily legible on both mobiles and tablets. Cellphone users will quickly abandon a web page whose content is too small or too large to read on the mobile screen. If your website’s content is designed to fit a mobile screen without the user having to scroll up and down to view the full page, you have a winner on your hands.

With a few right measures, you can drastically improve the UX of your mobile site, which will, in turn, ensure that Google considers your e-commerce site mobile-friendly and gives it the ranking it deserves.

Conclusion

Incompetent search engine optimization of ecommerce websites is often the outcome of mistakes that can be easily avoided, provided the basic rules of SEO are followed. Some of these rules are pretty basic, but in the hands of a novice digital marketing professional who is not aware of the latest SEO best practices, your website’s SEO ranking can take a big hit.

Especially if yours is an SME establishment that’s working hard to gain a stronghold in the dynamic world of online selling, experts strongly recommend that you consider your digital marketing cost an investment rather than an expense. This attitude will take your e-business places in a short span of time!

Interior designing is considered to be one of the thriving businesses these days. And in a sea full of experienced designers who came before you, you might find it hard to find your kinder tide initially.

Starting up an interior design business, like any other businesses, doesn’t have to be a nightmare though. While it is true that there is no shortcut to success, starting off lean and strong can sometimes do the trick. And if you have already decided on this new venture, then there is no point looking back.

Read on below to find out 5 tips you may consider in starting up your own interior design business.

1. Build a Slick Website

During your initial year, clients may already expect that you can’t show any portfolios yet. Hence a slick website can either make or break your debut.

Make sure that prospective clients can see a piece of you from the website. Make it a bit more personal because it relays a message across that you are an open book. Customers prefer those who are not picky about creating a rapport with them. It makes them feel more comfortable. But at the same time, make it professional as well to preserve the business side.

Now, just from building a website might already cost you a decent chunk of your capital. But don’t fuss about it, because it will definitely make a great start for you.

2. Reasonable Price or Go Pro-Bono

The best way to make a name in the industry is through the word of mouth.

Now, this might cost you a little more because you need to do a free service for at least 2 or 3 clients during your initial year at least. But still, take it as an opportunity to put your best foot forward and leave them nothing but a satisfied clientele. However, make sure that you still protect your business by being cautious of up to what extent you can do for the client.

You may even film the job you do, with the client’s approval of course, so you may add it to your portfolio in the future.

3. Show Amazing Photos of your Work

If you have done simple works before, may it be helping out a friend or one of the relatives, still grab the opportunity to boast about it? It might not be a lot, but the fact that you have something to show is a good start.

And then moving forward, ensure that you properly document each project you do and update your portfolio as you go. It is important to make sure the sample photos you bring in are shot professionally. Right angling and lighting are vital to have additional drama and effect.

4. Market Your Business on Social Media

It is free and very accessible to use too. And you can easily connect with several prospect clients just in one engagement post. Be visible as you can be from the online world. Create engaging posts and be responsive as much as you can. Make sure to be cautious of social media algorithm so you can stay on the newsfeed most of the time. You can reach people not just from your own country, but across the whole world too.

5. Grow Your Interior Design Business

You’ve got your website up and running, made presence through social media platforms and had some pro-Bono’s to start with as well. Now the key is maintaining the momentum.

Once you feel that the business had reached its stability, don’t be afraid to let it grow. Look around and think of other things which you can offer more to your clients. Be ready to accept change and adapt to what the current situation needs.

And if you ever feel like you need to learn more skills and techniques on how to be a better interior designer, then never limit yourself. You can enroll in an online interior design course if need be.

Final Thoughts

The good thing about starting up a business like interior designing is there’s no age limit to it. It all boils down to your passion as a designer. So don’t be afraid to take the risk and get out of your comfort zone. Or forever hold your horses.

While your car may not be an investment in the strictest sense, since most cars don’t increase or even maintain value over time, it can be considered an investment in your quality of life.B y allowing you more freedom in terms of where you can go and what you can do, a car can significantly increase your ability to live well. This is why you need to take care of your car.

While you don’t need to splurge on unnecessary vanity enhancements like spoilers or lift kits that add no value to your ride (and may actually take a dramatic bite out of it’s value) there are some parts and services you should consider a purchase. These are the things that will help preserve more of your car’s worth by prolonging its life.

Here’s what we’re talking about.

Oil Changes

Oil changes often fall by the wayside of regular engine maintenance — but they’re incredibly important. Regularly changing you oil promotes engine lubrication, removes particles and sludge that will wear your engine down, keeps the engine cool to avoid overheating and improves fuel mileage. All of these perks will keep your car running smoother for longer. Don’t put it off: change your oil every 3 months, or 3,000 miles. That’s the general rule of thumb. Read your owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommendation.

Car Seat Covers

One of the most overlooked ways you can preserve more of the resale value of your car is by using quality custom car seat covers. Spills, stains, wear and tear and the elements can really take a toll on your upholstery, and worn and damaged upholstery will significantly reduce your ability to get a good price for your vehicle should you choose to resell. Buying car seat covers that are custom made for your exact make and model of car is a great way to get sleek, stylish and perfectly fitting coverage that will protect your seats and more of your car’s value.

When selecting the right covers, consider your lifestyle. For example, if your lifestyle or career takes you outdoors — or if you have kids or pets that are constantly spilling liquids in your car — consider waterproof car seat covers from My Custom Car. These will ensure your upholstery gets the best protection possible.

Professional Detailing

There is only so much most of us can do to clean our cars. Sure, we can vacuum, clean windows, polish leather and vinyl and wash and wax, but most of us lack the equipment, skill and time to get a really thorough clean — the kind of clean that will make your car look, feel and smell like new. Professional detailers can get rid of really stubborn stains — including salt stains — from upholstery and flooring. They can even use chemical steam cleaning to get rid of black mould caused by moisture that can accumulate in the nooks and crannies of your car and cause respiratory issues.

You don’t have to have your car detailed every month, but two or three times a year can do wonders to keep your ride in tip-top shape.

Wheels

Never, ever cheap out on wheels. Buying good quality and season appropriate wheels for your car will help improve gas mileage, while also keeping you car literally on the road longer — and not in a ditch. How often you need to change your wheels depends on a lot of factors, like road conditions around where you live/work, how hard you drive your car and how often you drive it. However, generally, you want to change your wheels every 25,000 to 50,000 miles.

Insurance

OK, insurance is an obvious expense you need for you car, but one that many people don’t realise the value of until they need it. Get the best insurance you can, being sure to understand exactly what you’re getting for you money, and exactly what you may need. Don’t opt for the most basic option just because it is the least expensive. If you are on the road a lot, you are more likely to be in an accident or get a dent in a parking lot: get the best for your driving habits.

Do you have money on the side that is just sitting in the bank? Don’t know what to spend it on? Don’t spend it on useless things. You need to make the smart move when it comes to money matters. You can invest it and effortlessly make your money grow.

One lucrative way to increase your funds is by buying a business. Although this is a large investment, buying a business won’t fail you. This doesn’t seem as scary as it looks. You don’t have to give up your whole life to dedicate yourself to growing the business. The best thing about buying a business is that you only need to check up on it a few times a month to see how the business is doing. You can hire and delegate tasks to competent individuals to make your business soar.

Determining the best fit for you

You can freely make the choice of what type of business you want. You can either buy a franchise business or buy businesses for sale and then try to rebrand them. Sometimes, you can get lucky and buy a new, unique and profitable business that is fast gaining popularity and already has a large market share.

Whatever you’re looking for, you should make time to first assess the business before buying it. You should take precautions and pay attention to the essential and universal requirements it has to fulfil to make sure that it is the best fit for you.

Things you should consider:

Profitability. In considering any kind of business, whether you want a bakery shop, a dressmaker shop, a butcher shop or a launderette, you need to assess whether the business will be able to generate profit or not. You need to ask yourself, “Will the business provide a reasonable return on the investment, given the risk?” You have to assess the market as well to know if you will have a large market for the product or service you want to sell. You have to ascertain that the business has a good location and the costs of doing business are acceptable. The profits must outweigh the projected costs.

Matching and growing interests. When you are planning to buy a business from someone else, make sure that your interests align with each other. Buy a business that connects well with you and has the same mission and vision as you. Determine for yourself what types of businesses you’re interested in. If you don’t know how to proceed, you may look for an industry you are familiar with and start from there. Also, you should have a growing interest in the business. If you see yourself in the future losing interest, giving up on the business, perhaps it might not be the best choice for you. Hence, you should assess yourself carefully.

Clear future. Think of how to make your business a top-of-mind brand. You always have to up your game. This includes a long-term plan on how to grow your business and make it more successful. If you have clear plans for the future of the business, then it is the right match for you.

The ways and means of producing and directing films have changed over the years starting with the initial “moving pictures” in the 19th century to the adoption of digital media in the present day. The method and approach being used today vary radically from the strategy employed in the Golden age of American cinema. With various digital and online streaming platforms coming in, it sometimes becomes harder for studios not only to make profits but even to achieve break-even.

Does this mean that the era of film production as we know it, through studios is on the decline?

Well, it might not be so. What has changed are the numbers. Earlier a studio that would make ten movies a year will now narrow it down to five, investing and focusing more on the quality rather than the quantity.

Once a blockbuster is created its shelf life increases dramatically, and the studio can recover cost overheads and also make profits thereby making its business model more viable and sustainable. What makes this approach even more lucrative is that the studio can then bank upon merchandising, spin-off television series, sequels which opens up new avenues for doing business.

There are also instances when the studios have been blamed for meddling too much with a well -directed film and then making the result in less than satisfactory for its viewers. There is a degree of truth to this, but some studios, on the contrary, have breathed new life into films by intervening at the right moments. Hence the topic of interference is highly debatable with both sides having their arguments. The primary objective, however, is to give viewers the best cinematic experience.

STX studios founded in 2014 as an entertainment studio and start-up has a visionary plan of action where it wants to be the link between the U.S. and Chinese Entertainment market. It follows the approach of having star-centric, mid-budget films where the appeal of the star gets the audience to the theatre, and the storyline makes them love the movie once they watch it. STX studios founded by Bob Simonds Jr. who is married to Anne Biondi – The New York times, aims to develop and work on this 21st-century dynamic model which re-defines the purpose of how a studio can keep pace and make the most by exploring the various digital and un-conventional channels available for expansion.

Developments like these will open up new vistas through which fans can enjoy and learn more about their most loved movies and consume content that they love without any barriers or limitations. The digital route will give the studios new ways to reach audiences globally, and above all, they will be able to have a genuinely global and digital cinematic experience.

It’s a shame that many business owners see employee engagement as more of an afterthought than anything. While it’s understandable because there are plenty of aspects of a business that need to be taken care of, it’s important to give each and every aspect the focus and attention it deserves. If you were to go out and ask people at random if they felt engaged in their jobs, you’d probably be hard-pressed to find more than a few who say that they are.

Consultants over at Hunter Adams – Aberdeen are known for being able to turn businesses around through proper HR guidance and employee engagement, but the fact that they’re able to do this with an incredible amount of success says something about the state of most companies. Here are just some of the reasons why employee engagement is important in a business.

Simply put, it delivers results

Let it be known that one of the biggest reasons why employee engagement needs to be high on the list of any company is because it drives productivity and gives business owners the results that they want. Sometimes, in order to make money, you have to spend money, and those who try to go for shortcuts wherever they can aren’t going to get very far. If you want customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction needs to be achieved first. Otherwise, most companies will find it very difficult to achieve results in a timely fashion.

Employees engaged in their work are less likely to quit

This is another problem that plagues many companies, and the worst part is many do not understand why it’s happening. They feel that they’ve done an adequate job keeping the employees happy, only to be surprised when they find many of their employees quitting. Individuals who are engaged in their jobs are much less likely to quit, which is another big reason to focus on employee engagement. While it’s true that some employees have a tendency to quit anyway, you minimise the risks dramatically by ensuring that your employees are satisfied.

Employees happy with their work are contagious

When you think about the gift that keeps on giving, a good example would be making an effort to keep your employees happy and willing to give you their all. When employees are happy with their work, they develop a positive attitude that can be contagious around the workplace. This means that new employees will find themselves swept up by the positive attitude, making it much easier for a company to get results.

To conclude, it can be silly sometimes to have companies that want to achieve results but aren’t willing to help their employees enjoy their jobs. As an afterthought, when employee engagement only works at its bare minimum, it leads to diminished results that could have business owners scratching their heads – when the solution is right in front of them. Keep your employees happy, and they’ll keep your business happy!

Compensation management is one of the most crucial aspects of running a business. By compensating employees well, a business is better able to retain quality manpower. Most companies rely on spreadsheets to manage compensation information for the entire organisation. There are many disadvantages to relying on this outdated system. First, it does not offer much visibility to all stakeholders involved in the approval process. Spreadsheets are also a nightmare to consolidate which adds to the inefficiency of the process.

One major improvement in employee compensation and benefits management is the use of automated compensation software. More companies are looking to this solution because of the benefits outlined below.

A tool to involve the management chain

Part of the challenge of relying on spreadsheets is the inability to involve managers real-time. With the use of compensation software, all managers within the hierarchy can have access to each step of the process. Any amendments can be added seamlessly which accelerates the system while eliminating mistakes.

A tool to make decisions that are fair and accurate

Personalisation is one of the main features of compensation software. This means that the individual performance of each employee is factored in along with specific policies and rules. For example, it is easier to apply filters and quantifiers for new employees. In addition to this, it is also possible to incorporate references to trends in salary that are affecting and stimulating the market. The company will have a better handle on what is fair and just in terms of policies for retention.

A tool for enhanced productivity and efficiency

One of the main reasons for adopting the use of software is to increase operational productivity. This is exactly what compensation software like Curo Compensation software does. By automating the process, the workload is reduced while also enhancing the collaborative aspect of the process. One additional feature of compensation software is the ability to notify all stakeholders about each phase and inform them when amendments have been made, or the process is already closed.

A tool that allows interoperation

Managing compensation and benefits cannot be separated from other HR processes such as appraisals for employee performance. It is important that the software is integrated with other relevant and/or important processes related to HR and payroll. By interconnecting these processes, it ensures streamlining and seamless linking between all related departments.

These benefits should also serve as a guide when a company selects specific compensation management software to adopt. To ensure that you get maximum benefits, you have to take into consideration the features of the product along with the cost associated with acquisition. In choosing a specific compensation management software to adopt, it is necessary that the software itself is easy to adapt and does not require extensive training.

It is also necessary that the provider should include support for rolling out the software. You will need a team of dedicated experts and HR personnel to deliver a perfect solution that matches the needs of the company.